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I just finished my novena to St. Joseph, husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus.

Here is a copy of the Novena Prayer in case you're interested:Saint Joseph, you are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate you. You know that I have confidence in you and that, after Jesus and Mary, I come to you as an example for holiness, for you are especially close with God. Therefore, I humbly commend myself, with all who are dear to me and all that belong to me, to your intercession. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, not to abandon me during life and to assist me at the hour of my death.Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, pray for me to have a pure, humble, charitable mind, and perfect resignation to the divine Will. Be my guide, my father, and my model through life that I may die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.Loving Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, I raise my heart to you to implore your powerful inter…

Today marks the beginning of the holiest of all days. During this week, we remember the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. But more than a mere remembrance, the Holy Week is an actual reality. It is our own journey with Christ, with our own crosses, to our sure destination: salvation! In the words of Fr. Jerry Orbos, SVD, "The Holy Week speaks of the truth that God has come to save us, has taken on our ways, has spoken our language, has made our human circumstances a tool of saving power."
During our cluster recollection, Fr. Leo Luanzon shared an acronym (which he also got from Fr. Orbos) to help us make this week not just an ordinary week but a truly meaningful and holy week. Halt! Stop for a while, or at least slow down. Take time to rest and relax. Off with your worldly pursuits and concerns. Turn off your cellular phone if you have to, so that you can focus on your spiritual life this week. Forget quotas, forget deadlines, and forget performance. Don't let …

During one of his mini-recollections, Fr. Jonathan shared this beautiful text: LIVE A LIFE THAT MATTERSReady or not, someday it will come to an end.There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days.All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.It will not matter matter what you owned or what you owed.Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear.So too, your hope, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will expire.The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.It won't matter where you came from, or on what side of the tracks you lived, at the end.It won't matter whether you were beautiful, handsome or brilliant.Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.So what will matter?How will the value of your days be measured?What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built;not what you got, but what you gave…

Last week, I was on sick leave from Monday until Wednesday. Dr. Mariano advised that I rest for 2-3 days due to acute bronchitis. On Monday evening, I had one of the worst attacks of gastritis, which, according to Dr. Razote was triggered by the medicines that I'm taking (there's four of them).
In all those times, I was alone. My parents have been in the province since June last year and my brother is at work. I really don't like going to the doctor. Somehow I managed to increase my pain tolerance. But last Monday was way beyond my strength. I woke up with a very painful back and a heavy chest. I could hardly breathe due to cough and colds. And I really felt weak. I also experienced terrible chest pain every time I cough. And so I decided to have myself checked.
What made my situation even more difficult aside from the expensive medicines is the absence of my parents. With them around, I don't have to worry about anything. Mama would cook healthy meals for me, Papa wo…

I went out to buy my remaining medicines and some groceries. When I was about to pay the amount due, the cashier told me that I already earned 93.11 points (equivalent to Php93.11) with my Robinsons Rewards Card. She asked me if I wanted to redeem the points and deduct the equivalent amount from the total amount that I was about to pay. I gladly took the offer since it's almost a hundred bucks less my total bill. Marami pa akong magagawa sa Php93. :)
The Lord really knows what we need when we need it. :) On my way to the Robinsons Supermarket, I was already thinking of using my Laking National points to buy myself "Si", Bob Ong's newest book which was recommended by a sister in the community. I was not even thinking about Robinsons Rewards, but I believe it was God who moved the cashier to tell me about it. He knew I needed it now more than ever. He's simply amazing. :) And because I was overwhelmed by God's goodness, I have forgotten about the book. I just …

Several months ago, a friend from the community recommended "The Book Of Life." I've had the copy of it months ago as well, but I only got to watch it this morning. Finally. :)
I've listed some of the lines that really captivated me and made me love this animated film. 1. As long as we remember them (the faithful departed), they are with us. The moment we forget them, they are truly gone.
In the movie, heaven and hell are represented as the Land of the Remembered and the Land of the Forgotten. It's a good way to remind us that the dead need our prayers for them to rest peacefully in heaven. The Catholic faith teaches us of the purgatory where the souls are being purified. Our prayers help our loved ones in their journey towards the eternal kingdom of God. May we not just remember them during All Souls Day but let's make a conscious effort to lift them up in our everyday prayers. :) 2. Fathers do what's best for their children.
Not just fathers but parents …

When I first read the above poem, I was so overwhelmed that I was actually moved to tears. I am just so proud of my brother who was brave enough to make a stand, to fight for love, to decide to get married. :) I could just imagine how my soon-to-be sister-in-law felt during the proposal on top of Mt. Kiltepan in Sagada, during the most be…

One of the most practical lessons that I learned from Mama is paying our bills on time. She would do whatever it takes just to make sure that all our bills are paid on or before the due date. Now I believe mothers know best. :)
Last month, my brother and I were surprised to see the amount printed on our Meralco bill. Who wouldn't be when it says the total current due is zero?! Hard to believe? Here's the proof:

Based on our monthly electricity chart, we have consumed more electricity last month than in January but how come it costed us nothing? Well, along with the bill came a letter from Meralco that explains everything. :)
Here's the love letter: Dear Valued Customer,In our effort to keep you updated about policies and guidelines relating to your electric service, we would like to inform you of the recently implemented Bill Deposit Update Program. The bill deposit is an amount required from customers of distribution utilities as a guarantee for payment of electric bil…

*SFC Upper Household Topic
There are six weeks before Holy Week as Lent. Between Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday there are 40 days. The same number of days that the Israelites scouted in the promised land, the same number of years the Israelites wandered in the desert and the same number of days that Jesus spent in the wilderness/desert after His baptism. We can use this time to reflect on all that God has done for us.
Some Christians use this time to "give up something" to remind them of what Jesus "gave up" for us on the Cross. You are welcome to give up something important during this time if you'd like. However, it's not necessary. In the next six weeks (we're now on the third week) we'll be looking at some "wilderness" experiences from scripture and comparing them to some of our own so that the next time we feel "lost in a desert" we will be able to draw encouragement and strength from the scriptures.
Let's look at what …

As we begin the 3rd week of Lent, our dear Fr. Jonathan Letada, SVD, decided to give a mini-recollection during his masses (Mondays) at the CFC Global Mission Center.
Yesterday, he began by presenting to us the Language of the Lenten Season. Found it nourishing and as my way of helping spread the Good News, I'm sharing below the content of the said topic. Be blessed and be a blessing. :) We need to look into the various languages and reflect about the names of the Lenten Season. We need to discover how they reveal their meaning and significance in our Christian life. Quadragesima 4th Century Old NameLatin word which means time-period of 40 daysItalian - QuaresmaSpanish - CuaresimaIt reflected the church's devotion to Jesus' journey in the desert for forty days. It indicates the length of time dedicated to the preparation for the Paschal Mystery.FastenzeitGerman word for Lent which means time of fasting or period of fastingFasting is only an external form of abstaining fr…

This has long been saved in this blog, but was never published. Actually, I could no longer remember where exactly I got these insights but I'm almost sure that it was from a homily of a good priest. :)

I don't know, but maybe God led me to this again because the Season of Lent is an opportune time to really develop virtues. And this is what St. Leo the Great said about virtues:

Speaking of virtue, I remember hearing this from one of Fr. Alex's homilies: there are two sins against the virtue of hope - presumption, believing that everything will work out fine even without you doing anything, and despair, thinking that no matter how hard you try, nothing will work out well.

Now here are the five truths about temptation, according to the priest who gave this homily:

1. Every temptation is not a sin. It only becomes a sin when you give in. Think of it as an invitation. Unless you accept, nothing happens. :)

2. You are tempted because you are good (or at least trying to be good)…

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

God is in control.
While my day didn't turn out the way I planned... I expected Tita Ching to arrive at around 7AM but she arrived in Cubao at 4AM so I had to fetch her so much earlier than what I had set. I was all set to work on a specific project today but I was asked to attend an almost whole day training for a different project (yeah, a new one!). I was confident that I already have a powerpoint presentation for the CO Weekend talk on Saturday and that I just need to edit it a little, only to find out that Kuya Elmar has already deleted all my files (I had him re-format my laptop, he saved a back up of the files but deleted them all just last night. Perfect timing, eh?). Now I'll start from scratch.
... I know everything happened according to God's plan and purpose. :)
Borrowing the words from the Novena Prayer to …